The Diversity and Antidiscrimination Office is organizing an informational and educational event series thematizing the conflict in the Middle East on behalf of the Executive Board. The events kicked off on January 25, 2024, and are organized in cooperation with external partners. At the same time, the Antisemitism Awareness Weeks will be taking place at Freie Universität Berlin, an initiative spearheaded by faculty from various departments of the university for all of its members. In the following interview Professor Verena Blechinger-Talcott, Executive Vice President of Freie Universität Berlin, explains the background to these events.

Professor Blechinger-Talcott, Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 triggered a number of discussions and controversies across the world, sparking debates among politicians, throughout society, in Germany, and even at Freie Universität. Why do you think the topic of the Middle East is so contentious on campus?

Universities are mirrors of society, and therefore reflect societal discourses and political controversies. Moreover, it’s worth noting just how international and diverse Freie Universität truly is: 40,000 people from 140 countries study, teach, conduct research, and work at our university. Of the 33,500 students enrolled here, thirteen percent of bachelor’s students and twenty-nine percent of master’s students come from abroad as well as over one-third of our doctoral candidates.

The issues of diversity and university culture fall under your remit as Executive Vice President. How can we promote discourse on campus, for example in communicating with Jewish, pro-Israeli, Palestinian, and pro-Palestinian students? How can people with such a broad range of (at times) conflicting opinions be brought back into the fold so that they can engage in a more productive dialogue?

This is indeed one of the key tasks of universities: to discuss matters with each other using information underpinned by scholarly research and to conduct our discussions on this basis. Academia values the strongest, most well-founded, and best thought-out arguments. Our university is characterized by a discursive culture founded on mutual respect, open dialogue, and responsibility in line with our shared objective of searching for groundbreaking ideas and solutions.

We must be committed to upholding these values especially in contentious and conflictual situations. This means we also have to carve out spaces for constructive discussion. As a university we are unable to directly solve societal problems, but what we can do is make proposals based on well-founded scholarly expertise to contribute to finding a way forward. This also applies to the situation in Israel and Gaza.

But in creating space for discussion, we also have to remember certain cardinal rules, such as listening attentively to what the other person has to say, respecting their opinions, and moving toward understanding their point of view through discourse and dialogue.

Have these kinds of discursive spaces been lacking in recent weeks?

We have observed a sharp increase in uncertainty and anxiety on campus since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. This is something that I and my colleagues on the Executive Board have picked up on in many of the conversations we’ve been having since October 2023. Uncertainty and anxiety give rise to strong emotions in any situation. Our task as members of the Executive Board and as researchers is to ensure that we can reconvene and participate in a shared dialogue.

We have also taken note of the fact that many people want to educate themselves to better understand the topic, as a lack of knowledge can lead to a feeling of uneasiness. That is why our colleagues at the Diversity and Antidiscrimination Office are organizing a series of workshops, training courses, and informational events under the title “Talking about the Conflict in the Middle East – Confronting Antisemitism and Racism” in the coming weeks. These events will be oriented toward many different target groups at our university, including students, teachers-in-training, faculty, and staff. We are cooperating with external partner organizations to conduct these events.

The Antisemitism Awareness Weeks at Freie Universität Berlin will be launched in parallel this week. This is an initiative spearheaded by faculty members from various departments and disciplines who reached out to the Executive Board. From now until the end of the semester, many instructors will be either addressing the topic of antisemitism in their ongoing courses or developing and offering additional formats and events on the subject.

The latest escalation in the conflict in the Middle East has been going on for over 100 days now. Why are these options only being offered now?

We began planning for these events at the end of October and start of November last year. It was important to us to set up this series of events as an open forum for dialogue in order to give due attention to all sides of the discussion. We needed to dedicate a lot of time to having the requisite conversations in the run-up to this series. The Diversity and Antidiscrimination Office has also been in regular contact with representatives of Jewish and Palestinian students since last fall.

These conversations were invaluable; we listened intently and adopted the suggestions for cooperation with external organizations. Experts in this field are currently in high demand. We are delighted that these events can now finally go ahead.

Will there also be events that are open to the public?

On January 29, 2024, Meron Mendel, professor of social work at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and director of the Anne Frank Educational Center, and Saba-Nur Cheema, political scientist and research assistant at Goethe University Frankfurt, will be holding a public lecture titled “After October 7: Antisemitism, Racism, and the German Debate.” I’m really looking forward to this event. Individual events throughout the awareness weeks organized by the departments will also be open to the public.

The headlines speak for themselves: Many Jewish people no longer feel safe in Germany. And some Jewish students at Freie Universität fear that they could become the target of antisemitic attacks. What can the university do to alleviate these fears?

This is something that I find deeply troubling. We believe Freie Universität to be an open place where Jewish people should be able to move freely, without fearing the consequences of wearing markers of their identity like kippahs or the star of David. We take this very seriously and ask all those impacted by antisemitism and witnesses to such incidents to report them. A contact person for people impacted by antisemitism is available to provide counseling to students and employees where needed. Contact can be established through the Diversity and Antidiscrimination Office.

Freie Universität takes very seriously its responsibility as a German university that was founded after the horrors of the Shoah. Our dedication to freedom guides our actions in this respect. We take a clear and active stance against marginalization, antisemitism, and racism at Freie Universität.

Muslim and Palestinian students have also been the victims of discrimination, while students who advocate for Palestinians feel like they’re not being seen. Who can they turn to in this difficult situation?

This is also a serious issue. Many Palestinians and Arabs as well as people who are perceived to be Muslim have reported that they have experienced discrimination at or on the way to Freie Universität, and that they have been accosted or even threatened.

The Diversity and Antidiscrimination Office is available to address students’ concerns and handle their requests for support, and offers counseling for all members of the university who have been affected by any kind of discrimination.

The “support.points” on campus can also offer help...

...yes, these are counseling services with psychologists that provide easily accessible support. We set these services up all over campus at the end of 2022. We now have nine “support.points” at Freie Universität. Their doors are always open to students who are struggling to cope. There are people who are of course directly impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, but there are also others who feel completely overwhelmed due to the current situation.

A large part of the ongoing debate in the public sphere revolves around what we can or cannot say, and the same applies to academia and universities. What are the boundaries of freedom of speech?

As researchers working in Germany we are fervent supporters of the principle of academic freedom enshrined in our constitution. This is something that we hold in the highest regard. The liberal democratic order provides very clear statutory and regulatory requirements for how we carry out our work. We communicate with each other through the exchange of information and arguments, and this is predicated on us listening to and respecting each other.

Calls to crack down on the freedom of expression and thought from politicians and media figures don’t sit right with me. Universities are also political spaces, but political discourse here takes place in a scholarly context that is oriented to research and teaching.

What do you expect from the events that will be taking place in the coming weeks on the topic of the Middle East, with a focus on antisemitism? What are you personally hoping will be the outcome of these events?

I am hoping that we will soon be able to participate in a constructive, multifaceted dialogue and breathe new life into the culture of debate inherent to Freie Universität. I want our university to be a place where students, faculty, and staff can openly and freely discuss different topics with each other. I think that we must all treat each other with respect and consideration. This is not just a key aspect of our self-image, but also a guiding principle for our university and for all our members – and the foundations of an environment based on trust, creating the ideal conditions for teaching, studying, and working. We also have to ensure that everyone – regardless of the complexities of their lives and backgrounds – feels seen and acknowledged. This is the only way that we can offer a campus where everyone feels safe and comfortable.

For my colleagues at Freie Universität who have a direct connection to the Middle East and the wider region, such as in Islamic studies, Jewish studies, or Arabic studies, I especially hope that they are able to continue cooperating in research and teaching as they have done for decades, as well as beyond the borders of their institutes. I hope that they will continue to engage in discussions about academic questions that are characterized above all by a profound sense of mutual respect, no matter where they come from. Each and every one of us – not just students – can benefit from this approach.

Christine Boldt conducted the interview.

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The original German version of this article appeared in campus.leben, the online magazine published by Freie Universität Berlin.